Young Clarets Aim For Semi-Spot

Burnley’s Development Squad travels to Exeter City in the Quarter-Final of the U21 Premier League Cup on Tuesday night, (KO 7pm).

The clash with Exeter will be Andy Farrell’s first game in charge, after taking over the role from Academy Manager Jason Blake.

The former Burnley midfielder and current Assistant Youth Coach will be missing four regular members of the squad due to international commitments.

However, Farrell confident his young side will make the step up.

He said: “Conor Mitchell, Cameron Howieson, Cameron Dummigan and Luke Conlan have gone away with their international teams, so some of the younger guys will get an opportunity to impress and I'm looking forward to it.

“The nucleus will be mainly the players that have played in the development squad, as no first teamers have travelled.”

The Development Squad manager is also looking forward to the trip on a personal level.

He said: “I didn’t think I’d get a visit back to St James Park.

“It takes me back to my footballing days, at least in terms of playing!”

Having defeated Wigan Athletic on penalties earlier in the tournament,in addition to victories aCrewe Alexandra and Sunderland (both 2-1), the young Clarets produced a fine performance to see off Lancashire rivals Bolton in the previous round.

Goals from Howieson, Jason Gilchrist and Jamie Frost gave Burnley a 3-0 victory in their fourth round mini-derby to set up the last-eight tie with Exeter.

Should they be victorious , the Development Squad will be rewarded with a trip to face Manchester City I the semi-finals.

Farrell added: “It’s certainly one of those that you want to be thinking about.

“That might be the thing that spurs them on, gives them that little bit of extra energy and hopefully gets them through."

The official website is with the boys at Exeter and we'll have live updates throughout the game on Twitter @BurnleyOfficial, with a full report to follow right here.